Separating apparatus.



Patented June 4, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

animen,

W. M. OBRIBN.

SEPARATING APPARATUS.

APPLIUATION FILED APR. 1s, 1911.

atented June 4, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.'

WILLIAM MANNING OBRIEN, OF SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH.

' SEPARATING .APPAR%TUS.

To all whom. t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM MANNINQ OBRIEN, a citizen of the United States,

residing at Salt Lake City, in the county of Salt Lake and State of Utah, have invented new and useful Improvements 1n Separating Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an apparatus for use in separating rubber from plants containing rubber or rubber producmg materials, the object of the invention being to provide a simple and effective construction of apparatus for agitating and d lslntegrating the material for the separatlon of the .rubber or rubber producing substances therefrom in a rapid and economical manner.

'The invention consists of the features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in whichzw Figure 1 is a top plan view'of the separator constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the same. Fig. 3 is an end elevation looking toward the discharge end of the separator. Figs. 4 and 5 are vertical transverse sections on the lines 4 4 and 5-5 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates a cylinder or casing having at one end a hopper or inlet 2 for the introduction of the material to be treated. Extending longitudinally within said cylinder or casing is a shaft 3 carrying a screw conveyer 4, whereby the material is agitated within the chamber and fed to and through the disintegrating devices, hereinafter described. At its receiving end the cylinder is closed by a wall 5 having an opening for the passage of the shaft, said wall being bored to form a stuffing box 6 receiving a gland 7. Beyond this end of the cylinder is the main bearing'S for the shaft which is held in place by four equidistant radiant webs 9 cast to the cylinder and to a base plate 10 on which the separator as a whole rests. The bearing receives a bushing 11, and the bearing and bushing are provided with registering oil passages for the feed of oil to the bearing surfaces from an oil or grease cup 12. Two of the webs are cut away at their inner ends and the bearings spaced from. the cylinder to permit of the Specification of Letters Patent. Y Application 11a-capras 1a, 1911. `sria1 Nfsaoase.

Patented June 4, 1912.

ready application and removal of the stuifmg box gland, nut and packing. The base is adapted to be secured to a suitable support, and the end of the shaftl projecting beyond the bearing 8 carries a pulley 13 by which pgiwer may be transmitted to drive the shaft" from lany suitable source of power. The outer or discharge end of the cylinder is counterbored to provide an annular shoulder 14 anda discharge spout 15, and arranged wit-hin this spout are stationary and rotary disintegrating disks or heads 16 and 17, each provided with "a multitude of perforations or openings 18 and 19, respectively,-through which the material is discharged under the pressure of the feed screw. The inner ends of the openings or perforations in the stat-ionary disk or head 16 are tapered or flared in order to permit the material to easily enter the same and to be compressed on its discharge, and to enable a comparatively large amount of the material to .be forced through each perforation. The inner or stationarydisk 16 rests against the shoulder 14 and is provided with a central opening to receive an enlarged bearing portion 20 on the shaft, between the wall of which opening and said bearing portion is inserted a bearing bushing 21 anged at its inner end to bear against the adjacent end of the feed screw, whereby the parts are retainedin proper position and permitted to have easy relative movement. Formed on the disk 16 are lugs or projections 22 which engage retaining grooves 23 formed in the wall of the spout, whereby said disk is held from rota tion. Said disk is also formed at suitable intervals with peripheral sockets 24 receiving studs or keys 25 on the inner ends of screws 26 threaded in openings in the spout, by which the disk is secured in position against outward displacement. The rotary disk or head 17 bears snugly against the outer face of the disk 16 and is formed with a central opening to receive a reduced portion 27 of the shaft, which portion of said shaft is provided with lugs or keys 28 entering grooves 29 in saidrotary disk, by which the latter is keyed to the shaft to rot-ate therewith.l Beyond the portion 27 the extremity of the shaft is threaded to receive a nut 30 bearing against the disk 17 and holding the same from outward displacement. On said end of the shaft is an oil or grease cup 31 from which lubricant messer.

is supplied to the bearing surfaces 20 and 21 through a feed bore or passage 32. It will be understood .from this construction that the feed screw and rotary disk are turned by and with the shaft, and that as the perforations in the rotary disk come into register with the perforations in the stationary disk the material forced by the )ressure of the screw against the stationary isk will be discharged through the registering perforations. In such action the walls of the perforations in the rotary disk operate in conjunction with the walls of the perforations in the stationary disk to form cutters whereby the material is ground or shredded on its discharge and thus reduced to a comminuted condition in which the fibers of the material are thoroughly broken up.

In o eration, the plant or material to be treate is first cut up or ground to a comminuted condition in a machine of the type herein described or in any other suitable machine, then submerged in hot water in a tank for any length of time, preferably from eight to twelve hours, the water being allowed to gradually cool, whereby the material is softened. The water is allowed to risc a considerable distance above the ulp so as to wash out and extract some ofpthe impurities and foreign matter. The moistened pulp is then treated one or more times in one or a series of se arators of the construction herein act fort i, by which the materiai la diainte rated and all the rubber separated there rom. Preferably the pulp is passed through each separator with a flowing stream of 'not water for the purpose of `lissolvng any mmaining impurities pres ent washing out the rubber from the fiber an foreign substances, and keeping the rubber in n plastic condition so that its separation la facilitated. After the final disintegrating and separating action, the material may be run nto tanins tllhwl with water (preferably hot), in which the rubber or rubber producing material is collected and the fiber is discarded as refuse` In its pas- .and economical manner.

sage through the separator the pulp is agitated and ground by the feed screw, squeezed' and further disintegrated and agitated by the disintcgrating disks, and washed by the water so that the rubber is freed from the fiber and other foreign substances in arapid Where a series of di.ntcgrators is used, the perforations in the disintegrating disks of the several scparators may decrease serially in size for an obvious purpose. By arranging the disintegrating disks within the spout and extending the latter beyond said disks, the discharging pulp and water will be guided and prevented from spurtin or spouting out- Wardly in a lateral irection beyond a straight path as will he readily understood.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:-

A separating apparatus consisting of a cylinder having an integral hopper and an internal concentric shoulder formed in one end thereof, said cylinder havin a. closed end, a separating worm mounts for rotation in the cylinder and having a shaft on one end extending through the closed end of the cylinder and a cylindrical portion on the other end, a perforated disk disposed against the concentric shoulder of the cylinder and provided with lugs, screws threaded through the wall of said cylinder and having iin-threaded inner ends engaging the edge of unid diaic, a perforated dial( eyed to the outer portion of the worm and contacting with the outcr face of the first disk, the cylindrical portion of said worm being formed with a longitudinal oil passage terminating in a lateral outlet at its inner end, and an oil cup having communication with said passage.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

Wl LLAM M ANNING. OllltllGN.

Wltneasca i Jenn W. Bua'rou, W. E. Corman. 

